Both Syrian and Russian hamsters mature quickly and can begin reproducing at a young age (4–5 weeks), whereas Chinese hamsters will usually begin reproducing at two to three months of age, and Roborovskis at three to four months of age. All hamsters are excellent diggers, constructing burrows with one or more entrances, with galleries connected to chambers for nesting, food storage, and other activities. Syrian hamsters are seasonal breeders and will produce several litters a year with several pups in each litter.

Other hamster species commonly kept as pets are the three species of dwarf hamster, Campbell's dwarf hamster ( Phodopus campbelli), the winter white dwarf hamster ( Phodopus sungorus) and the Roborovski hamster ( Phodopus roborovskii). These littermates were captured and imported in 1930 from Aleppo in Syria by Israel Aharoni, a zoologist of the University of Jerusalem. Some activists attempted to intercept owners who were on their way to turn in pet hamsters and encourage them to choose adoption instead, which the government subsequently warned would be subject to police action.

These include the maned hamster, or crested hamster, which is really the maned rat ( Lophiomys imhausi). Testimony from Grant C Riddle (born 1929, living in Lake Wildwood, CA) who had a pet hamster in 1942.

Neumann, K; Michaux, J; Lebedev, V; Yigit, N; Colak, E; Ivanova, N; Poltoraus, A; Surov, A; Markov, G (2006). Enjoy the largest amateur porn community on the net as well as full-length scenes from the top XXX studios. Wild hamsters will also appropriate tunnels made by other mammals; the Djungarian hamster, for instance, uses paths and burrows of the pika.By awarding hamsters which match standard hamster types, hamster shows encourage planned and careful hamster breeding. This kind of thermoregulation diminishes the metabolic rate to about 5% and helps the animal to considerably reduce the need for food during the winter. Fritzsche indicated although some species have been observed to show more nocturnal activity than others, they are all primarily crepuscular.

Female Chinese and Syrian hamsters are known for being aggressive toward males if kept together for too long after mating. Molecular phylogeny of the Cricetinae subfamily based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b and 12S rRNA genes and the nuclear vWF gene" (PDF). One rodent characteristic that can be highly visible in hamsters is their sharp incisors; they have an upper pair and lower pair which grow continuously throughout life, so must be regularly worn down. Dwarf hamster species might tolerate siblings or same-gender unrelated hamsters if introduced at an early enough age, but this cannot be guaranteed. The entire laboratory and pet populations of Syrian hamsters appear to be descendants of a single brother–sister pairing.They tend to learn similar noises and begin to know the sound of their food and even their owner's voice. If breeding hamsters, separation of the pair after mating is recommended, or they will attack each other. Taxonomists generally disagree about the most appropriate placement of the subfamily Cricetinae within the superfamily Muroidea.

Hamsters tend to love peanut butter but it is important to feed it to them carefully because this sticky food can get stuck in their cheeks.The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian hamster ( Mesocricetus auratus), which is the type most commonly kept as a pet. The judging of hamsters usually includes a goal of promoting hamsters which conform to natural or established varieties of hamsters. In the wild Syrian hamsters can hibernate and allow their body temperature to fall close to ambient temperature. It is possibly related to Old Church Slavonic khomestoru, which is either a blend of the root of Russian хомяк ( khomyak) "hamster" and a Baltic word (cf. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian hamster ( Mesocricetus auratus), which is the type most commonly kept as pets.